Fact Check

Was a Retirement Home Raided by the FBI for Running an Elderly Fight Club?

Breaking up non-existent elderly fight clubs at retirement homes does not appear to be an FBI priority.

Published Jan. 28, 2019

 (Shutterstock)
Image Via Shutterstock
Claim:
The FBI raided a retirement home to break up an elderly fight club.

A May 2018 article published by the World News Daily Report (WNDR) website about an supposed FBI raid at a retirement home opened as follows:

RETIREMENT HOME RAIDED BY THE FBI FOR RUNNING ELDERLY FIGHT CLUB, 7 ARRESTS

Seven employees of a nursing home for elderly people were arrested by the FBI this morning in Charlottesville, Virginia, for forcing the elders under their care to fight each other.

According to investigators, the 124 residents of the Retirement Village were forced to fight each other in order to obtain basic things such as food and medical treatments.

The fights were filmed and relayed online on a specialized website, where they often attracted several thousand viewers and astounding amounts of money in bets.

FBI spokesman, Bill Donovan, says the most popular fights were the ones in which contenders were “armed” with canes or walkers.

This story was not a genuine news report, as it originated with World News Daily Report, an "entertainment" (i.e., junk news) website that does not publish factual stories.

WNDR carries a disclaimer referencing "the satirical nature of its articles" and "the fictional nature of their content."

In addition to the disclaimer, this article also included outdated and unrelated photographs. The image supposedly showing the FBI raid, for instance, has been available online since at least 2008, while the picture of the alleged "elderly fight club" dates to 2010:

Sources

World News Daily Report.   "Retirement Home Raided by the FBI for Running Elderly Fight Club, 7 Arrests."     29 May 2018.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.